Letters from

Company B
11th Pennsylvania Reserves

Source:The
Indiana Democrat, December 24th, 1862

Transcribed by
Shirley Pierce

We are permitted to lay before our readers the following
private letters--one from Capt. D. S.
Porter and one from Sergt. John Sutor--which give the fullest information that
has yet been received from Co. B, 11th Reserves:

Dec. 14th, 1862.

My Dear Mother: - Again my life has been spared. We had a terrible battle yesterday. Our
division charged in the face of the rebel batteries and rifle pits, drove the
enemy from them and gained the hill; but no support came to our assistance, and
we were driven back. Three hundred and
ninety-three men in our regiment went into action--of these, 240 are killed,
wounded and missing. About one half of
our division is gone. I took 45 men into
action--of these, 20 are killed, wounded and missing. W. D. Kuhns, James H. Trible, and probably
John Lewis are killed. James Devlin,
John R. Devlin, J. W. Howearth, Wm. Conner, Geo. Spauiding, Edwin Chesley, B.
F. Laughlin, J. J. Oatman, James Stephens, Jacob L. Craig, W. K. Thomas, J.
Milton Johnston, Joshua Allison, T. Henderson, Samuel Carbaugh, and probably G.
A. McLain are wounded. The wounds for
the most part are not severe. Lieut.
Stewart passed throí safely and fought bravely. The boys fought like heroes. They
were too brave I have little heart left. My brave comrades have fallen without gain. We were butchered like so many animals.

Your
Son, D[aniel]. S. Porter

[Captain]

Fredericksburg, Dec. 14, 1862

Dear
Parents: You perhaps think the
time long since I last wrote you. We left
Alexandria on the last Saturday week, and on Sabbath we arrived at the
Regiment. The next morning we took up
our line of march for this place, where we arrived on Thursday morning. Friday morning we crossed the river, and
yesterday afternoon we had a hard fight, in which our Company lost, in killed
and wounded, 19 men. We had 45 men on
entering the engagement. Our regiment
advanced into the woods and took some prisoners--say 100. I never saw men fight better.

I canít give you the correct account of the
killed and wounded in Co. B, but I am certain that Billy Kuhns was killed
instantly, for he was just to my left, and once when I turned my head, I saw
that he had fallen, and was pierced in the head, just above or along side the
left eye. There are two or three others
who we think were killed, but we are not certain. I shall not say who they are, until I know
certain. Milt. Johnston, the two
Devlins, J. W. Hoearth, G. Spaulding, Jas. Stephens, J. L. Craig, S. Allison,
T. Henderson, W. Conner, J. J. Oatman, Ed. Chesley, B. F. Laughlin, Wm. Thomas,
J. Trimble, S. Carbaugh, J. Lewis--several of these are but slightly wounded, some are badly injured. I canít say much about the extent of the
wounds, only of those I saw at the time and since. Milt. Johnston was near me, and told me when
he was wounded. He said he was wounded
in the hand, but not severely. I have
not seen him since.

We lost
heavily; but the boys fought like heroes. We have no skulkers in Company B. Capt. Porter is safe, but had part of his sword hilt shot away, the
same ball passing through the pocket of his overcoat. Lt. Stewart is safe. Thank Providence, I am yet unscathed. I helped take the prisoners I spoke of. It was a grand little affair. If we had been supported as we should have
been, we could have just as easily taken a whole regiment, for we flanked them
and drove them from their rifle pits; but we had to fall back. But our army holds it ground.